Chase a Crooked Shadow

From the opening credits against a slowly spinning weathervane of a boy and girl chasing each other for eternity, Michael Anderson’s Chase a Crooked Shadow announces itself as a thoughtful depiction of sibling rivalry in a glossy noir package. Both the premise and the payoff are unsettling: Kimberly Prescott (Anne Baxter), a wealthy heiress of a South African diamond fortune who lives alone in her family’s villa on the Spanish coast, is visited by a young man (Richard Todd) who claims to be her dead brother Ward, who had driven his car off a cliff three months earlier. Kimberly reports the imposter to the local police chief Vargas (Herbert Lom) but Ward convinces the inspector he’s the brother and Kimberly is either playing a prank or mentally unstable. Ward slowly takes over the household, including replacing the servants, and becomes increasingly intolerant of Kimberly’s resistance. Baxter never loses intensity in her performance, and the suspense builds without pause throughout the film, especially during a seemingly interminable car race along the seaside cliffs. Innovative camera angles, gorgeous outdoor settings, and an exciting score are integrated perfectly to make all the tension a thrill ride.